High-Performance Team (HPT) Theory
Characteristics that describe a highly successful team and not successful team
High-performance teams have a set of characteristics that enable them to work together effectively. Chong provides a number of these characteristics (208), which can be synthesized as follows:
- effective communication among team members, and between team members and the leader;
- effective distribution of time (the least important tasks take the shorter amounts of time) and tasks;
- the commitment of managers, and the team members’ ability to work well under pressure.
At the same time, the characteristics of low-performance teams can be synthesized as follows (Chong 210-211):
- difficulties regarding fixing the time of meetings, and low attendance at key meetings;
- the team members do not understand their roles clearly, are not enthusiastic about them, and experience difficulties while learning from the leader;
- the leaders are not effective and are not supported by the team members.
Research Findings on HPT
As can be seen from the characteristics of high-performance teams provided by Chong (208), effective communication, distribution of time and tasks, and commitment of the members of the team are crucial features for successful team performance. At the same time, such relationships between team members must be grounded in mutual trust. It is stated that trust is “a crucial factor for team performance,” and that team members who do not trust each other usually have trouble explaining their opinion, asking questions, and providing ideas that can improve the outcomes of the teamwork (Hakanen and Soudunsaari 40-41).
Thus, it is apparent that without trust at least such characteristics as effective communication and commitment do not emerge in a team. Therefore, when creating a team, it is recommended to employ various techniques that would build trust among the team members.
Key Criteria for HPT
To evaluate the effectiveness of a team and identify whether it is a high-performance team, Stoner offers to employ the following criteria (n. pag.):
- Alignment. Assess if the team members have a shared vision, whether they are moving together in the same direction, and whether each of them has a separate objective that correlates to the main goal of the team; this goal also has to be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound).
- Effective team process. Evaluate if the efforts of the team members are coordinated and whether there exists open communication, opinion-sharing, problem-solving, etc.
- Empowerment. Identify whether the team members feel that they have both individual and collective power to achieve their objectives and the team’s goal.
- Passion. Determine whether the members of the team can be characterized as having high levels of enthusiasm, energy, inspiration, and the desire to work together.
- Commitment. See if the team members feel a deep commitment to the goals of the team, to the purpose of its existence, and one another.
- Results. Check whether the team is capable of achieving good results, setting high standards, and sustaining their success with time.
Team Evaluation
Even though our team was an icebreaker project, it is my opinion that we were able to build a high-performance team and achieve the goals that were set. To evaluate the effectiveness of our team, it is possible to employ the criteria provided by Stoner (n. pag.) that were described above.
- Alignment. Our team had a shared vision of the result of our work. Every member of the team had a team role that was identified, and we had deadlines for our work. The roles were designed in a fashion that would allow us to reach the main goal of the team.
- Effective team process. The efforts of our team members were well-coordinated; our leader would double-check our work and coordinate our efforts. We effectively communicated using the email; the replies were provided on time. The communication was open, our personalities fit well, and everyone felt free to share their opinion with others.
- Empowerment. We knew that we would succeed in providing that our collaboration was fruitful. Because of the effective role distribution, we were able to achieve our objectives and finally reach the goal of our team’s existence. We felt each other’s respect and support, which also allowed us to be sure that we would accomplish what had been intended.
- Passion. The fact that we respected each other and did our tasks with the due responsibility was providing us with the energy needed to accomplish the goals, as well as with the enthusiasm for working together.
- Commitment. We were committed to our work because we respected each other and wanted the team to be successful, and we understood that the success would have been impossible without the appropriate contribution of each member of the team. We felt obliged to do our work well so as not to let one another down, but to help each other to get the best results. There were no “slackers” or “free riders.”
- Results. Each one of us held oneself accountable; the team members completed their task on time, and the results were of high quality.
To sum up, we were able to successfully communicate, share our responsibilities, and carry out our tasks in an effective manner. It is my opinion that the team which we created was a high-performance team.
Works Cited
Chong, Eric. “Role Balance and Team Development: A Study of Team Role Characteristics Underlying High and Low Performing Teams.” Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management 8.3 (2007): 202-217. ProQuest. Web.
Hakanen, Mila, and Aki Soudunsaari. “Building Trust in High-Performing Teams.” Technology Innovation Management Review 2.6 (2012): 38-41. ProQuest. Web.
Stoner, Jesse Lyn. The 6 Benchmarks of High Performance Teams. 2013. Web.